130-30 Strategy

A strategy that uses financial leverage by shorting poor performing stocks and purchasing shares that are expected to have high returns. A 130-30 ratio implies shorting stocks up to 30% of the portfolio value and then using the funds to take a long position in the stocks the investor feels will outperform the market. Often, investors will mimic an index such as the S&P 500 when choosing stocks for this strategy.




Taobiz explains 130-30 Strategy
To engage in a 130-30 strategy, an investment manager could rank the stocks used in the S&P 500 from best to worse on expected return, as signaled by past performance. From the best ranking stocks, the manager would invest 100% of the portfolio's value and short sell the bottom ranking stocks, up to 30% of the portfolio's value. The cash earned from the short sales would be reinvested into top-ranking stocks, allowing for greater diversification in the higher ranks.